The Parchment
by Shiiloe
Summary: Dumbledore decides to lighten the postwar mood. [WIP] This was at one time not AU but it has been a while since I've been able to work on this..years, in fact... and it is now extremely AU with what has happened in books 5 and 6. I may change that.
1. Prologue Let The Games Begin

Let The Games Begin

            Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, his aged hands steepled before him.  "After all, why shouldn't we have a little fun", he thought, with a telltale twinkle in his eyes and a slightly devious grin on his face. He stared down at the blank parchment before him. "They have all been through so much and its time for life to go on".

            The year ahead would be rather trying for many of the teachers.  Taking a year off from school was necessary in the wake of the war, but not without its repercussions.  They were now faced with 7th years that were a year older than usual (and adults by all standards) and twice the usual number of first years, considering they have the previous year's intended newcomers, along with the children that would normally start this term. 

            He thought about what had transpired over the last year while Hogwarts was effectively shut down to concentrate on the war.  In the end, it was no surprise that Harry Potter was the one to bring down Voldemort.  His innate but superior abilities showed themselves at the crucial moment, and the Dark Lord ceased to be. It had been a difficult year for all of them. Lives put on hold....lives lost.  . 

            But that was all over now.  And with it, so much had changed.  Surprisingly, inter-house rivalries had started to crumble, even between Gryffindor and Slytherin by some miracle.  There was still tension, of course, but it was more out of habit than out of hate.  Albus had done his job.  He had planted the seeds that began to grow when they were no longer consumed by the dark. There would always be a few that would cling to that darkness, but when many of the children, particularly from Slytherin, saw what being a Death Eater was really about...saw it with their own eyes...they knew that there was something innately wrong with it, and came to Dumbledore's aid in the end. Draco Malfoy was the first to join Dumbledore.  Albus had expected it, but it was quite a shock to everyone else.  Draco hadn't even waited for things to start to come to a head.  He had reconciled with Albus after his 5th year and had spied for the Order for nearly a year before anyone suspected he might have crossed. Near the end of his 6th year when his fellow Slytherins realized where his loyalties lie, many began to have doubts as to whether they had to follow in their parents' footsteps.

            Albus absently fingered the jar of Scoprire Occultare that rested next to the parchment. "It's now time to heal my children", he thought to himself. Popping the cork out of the little vial of powder, he considered how it all might play out.  "Its not like I'm actually meddling. I'm just giving them the push they need to do what is already in their hearts".  With a little pinch of the crystalline mixture sprinkled over the blank parchment, and a well-chosen incantation, the parchment disappeared.

            He smiled; a real smile.  Something he hadn't had the luxury of allowing himself for a long, long time.  He smiled...and began to feel the weight of the past year lift from his weary shoulders.  He knew his little act of healing was as much for himself as for the others.  He had lost a lot through the years...probably more than most.  He also knew that he had the benefit of a lifetime of experience to help cope with his losses; something that the others didn't have as of yet. 

            "I wonder who the first... victim will be", he thought aloud, in Fawkes' direction. "Do you have any thoughts on the subject?"  Fawkes gave a melodic trill and ruffled his feathers.  "Yes, yes.  I think you may be right about that.  Its high time our Potions Master loosens up a bit.  He's been living for other people for so long.  Its time he lives for himself.  But we really don't have a say in it, do we?  The parchment has a mind of its own".  With that, Dumbledore stood up to go join the rest of the school for lunch.  

            "Let the games begin".  He chuckled softly to himself and made his way down to the Great Hall.  
  



	2. Chapter One Hasty Retreat

A/N  Italics denotes thought dialogue. In any given chapter, there should only be one person's thoughts in italics, so there is no confusion, but if I have to change that at any point, I'll try to make it obvious.   

Credits:  I have put little references here and there to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  It's one of my favorite movies.  Now my son, who is nearly 4, is watching it too, so I've renewed my interest in the flick.  Most of the passwords are from Willy Wonka, along with other references here and there.  As far as the rest of the story, I think it's mostly original ideas (other than the obvious JK Rowling stuff) or at least its common enough not to be considered someone else's idea (such as what a Head Boy or Girl might have or be responsible for or the idea of certain characters becoming couples) so I don't think I have to give any credits there, but if anyone feels otherwise, please let me know and I will do my best to give proper credit.

I'd also like to add that I am totally –not- a writer.  This is my first attempt ever at writing (other than required stuff for school) so don't expect too much  :P  Constructive criticism is welcome and greatly appreciated.  However, being that I am not a writer, this will probably take a while to complete.  Having to take care of my 4 yr old takes up a great deal of my time so I can't make any promises as to how quickly this will unfold. Please be patient  J

Content:  All parties involved in physical relationships are assumed to be 'of age' , but I haven't decided yet how detailed I want to get, so rating isn't possible at this time.  Also, I have not decided what pairings I am going to have, so assume slash at some point, just in case.  Slash, for those who don't know, is male/male pairings, so if this makes you uncomfortable, don't read. 

Enjoy  J

Chapter One

            Hermione shuffled between the tall stacks of books in the library, running her hands along the leather bindings and muttering the titles of random volumes to herself.  She was pretty sure she was in the right section.  She had learned Monday that Snape would be covering Scoprire Occultare in class and she wanted to familiarize herself with it before Double Potions on Thursday morning. _Where is it..? I know its here somewhere.  _Frustrated with herself that she couldn't remember the particular tome in which she had read about the mixture, she began taking the most likely books off the shelf to bring with her back to her dorm. 

            Arms laden with five very large, and surprisingly heavy books, she made her way back toward the table that she had occupied for most of the evening.  This early in the term, not many students inhabited the library, particularly this late into the evening.  But Hermione being...well... Hermione, she had been staying in the library until curfew every night since the start of the school year.  She was alone in the library and it was quiet; too quiet.  It was kind of unnerving being in utter silence, so when the bell sounded to alert the students that it was officially bed time, and well passed curfew, Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin and the stack of books she was carrying fell to the floor.  Sighing, and smirking a little bit at her lack of composure, she stooped to gather the books back into her arms. 

            As she rounded the end of the shelves, she caught a glimpse of black robes and equally black hair hastily exiting the room.  _That's odd.  Where could he be going in such a hurry at this time of night?_  She shrugged, deciding that Professor Snape was never one that could be figured out, and continued to her table. Lying on top of her schoolbag was a crisp, pure white, parchment with a black silk ribbon tied around it.

            Back in 6th year, and also through the year encompassing the full out war against Voldemort, Snape had called upon Hermione to assist him in several potion-making endeavors.  As much as he loathed to admit it, she did excellent work, and he couldn't entrust such complicated work to just anyone. Hermione smiled when she thought of this.  It must have practically killed him to admit he needed her assistance, but she was flattered nonetheless.  Usually he just owled her or spoke to her personally when he needed an assistant, but maybe he had other things to attend to and just left a parchment with instructions this time. 

            Odd.  Snape didn't really seem like the 'black silk ribbon' type, but she didn't really have the time to reflect on that right now. It was passed curfew, and Head Girl or not, Hermione didn't like being out after curfew.  She felt she should set an example for the younger students, and even though 'lights out' didn't really apply to her as Head Girl, she believed that it would be best to make a good impression. 

            She dropped the books into her bag and tossed the white parchment on top, intending to read it once she got back to her dorm. Being Head Girl had its definite advantages, one of them being her own personal quarters, including her own fireplace and bathroom. She made her way to Gryffindor Tower and headed to the portrait that protected the common room from the rest of the castle. She rolled her eyes, realizing that she would have to utter the absurd password that Harry had come up with this week.  Being Head Boy and Girl, they were responsible for changing the password on the portrait hole weekly. Harry had 'won the toss' (they decided a simple sickle toss would be the fairest way to decide who picked the password) and chose their first password of the year. "Ron Weasley is a Vermicious Knid", she muttered, and the portrait hole swung open.  The joke was lost on most of Gryffindor house, including Ron.  Only the muggleborn, or those with close ties to the Muggle world, had any idea what it meant.  That didn't stop Harry from getting a good chuckle out of it, though.

            She sighed and shook her head at how someone who had been through as much as Harry Potter could come out and still be such a child at heart.  In a way she envied him, because she had set aside her own 'inner child' a long time ago.  She felt that she had seen and experienced too much to indulge herself in a little adolescent behavior now and again.  As she approached her own password protected portrait, she uttered the phrase 'Fizzy Lifting Drink' and chuckled to herself at her momentary lapse of reason when she had created the password. Ok, so maybe a little adolescent behavior snuck out every once in a while, but she certainly wouldn't make a habit of it. 

            She walked through the doorway and took a deep, calming breath.  She had only been in school a couple of days and already these rooms were comforting for her.  Most of the students considered her to be unapproachable and bookish.  In a way, she was, but it still made being out in the castle somewhat tense for her.  Being in her own quarters, she could let her guard down, so to speak. 

            She dropped her bag by the door...the parchment temporarily forgotten.  It was late, and she was too tired to think anymore.  She changed into her nightdress and climbed into her four-poster.  She decided that she would just get up earlier than usual to scan through the books she had retrieved from the library, before going to breakfast in the morning.  As she was drifting to sleep, she briefly remembered the parchment in her bag, and mentally scolded herself for not reading it before bed, but was soon in a deep sleep with all thoughts of the scroll left for another day. 

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

            Hermione blinked her eyes open, still a little confused from the dream from which she had just emerged. _Why would I be dreaming about.... Snape?!  _She gave an involuntary shudder.  It was an innocent enough dream.  She had just been working with him in the potions classroom.  It was really more of a memory that had manifested itself in her dreams, but odd nonetheless.  She and Snape had reached a sort of mutual tolerance over the last 2 years.  Working together they eventually put aside their differences and work together quite well.  He certainly hadn't used the phrases 'foolish girl' or 'insufferable know-it-all' for a while, in regards to her. They had what people would call a 'working relationship'.  But that didn't explain why he would suddenly be making an appearance in her dreams.  

            _Oh.... the parchment!  I almost forgot!_  She realized her subconscious must have been trying to remind her that she needed to find out why Snape would be requiring her assistance.  It seemed a reasonable enough explanation for the dream and she accepted it at that. She sat up and gave a bit of a stretch.   It seemed later than she had planned to get up, and decided she better get a move on.  

            She started her morning with her usual routine of showering, brushing her teeth (grinning inwardly that she had Malfoy to thank for her less prominent incisors) and finally twisting her still damp hair into a neat bun.  She didn't bother with make-up most of the time.  Sometimes on trips to Hogsmeade and for special feast in the Great Hall she would put a little extra effort into her appearance, but if she were honest with herself, she would admit that she had grown quite pretty over the years and the make-up really wasn't necessary.  

            Satisfied, she went back into her bedroom, and decided that she might as well use this time to peruse the books she obtained last night.  As she was walking to get her bag there was an obnoxious banging on her door followed by, "Mione!!  C'mon...we're late for breakfast!"  She swung her door open, and a sheepish looking Harry and Ron stood there grinning at her. "Breakfast?  It's that late?!?"  The duo shook their heads in unison and one of them muttered "Mione, Mione, Mione.  What are we going to do with you?"

            Ron gave one of his teasing smirks, "Have you been snogging all night in the Astronomy Tower again?  What would the younger kids think?  What kind of Head Girl are you, anyway?"  Hermione huffed and grabbed her bag.  She pushed the two boys aside and stormed down the hall, letting her portrait hole slam behind her.  

            Ron and Harry both laughed, knowing that she'd be over her huff in all of 30 seconds, and scurried to catch up to her.  As she approached the portrait hole in the common room they heard her shout, "Ron Weasley is a Vermicious Knid!!" and she pushed to door open, stomping into the castle hallway.

            "Mione...have you lost it?  You don't need to say the password when -leaving- the dorms", Ron offered as he made his way out into the hall were Hermione stood with an irritated look on her face.

            "Yes, Ron.  I'm quite aware of that.  Who said I was trying to open the door?" she grinned and started walking casually toward the Great Hall for breakfast.  She usually didn't stay mad long and she felt she got her revenge, even if it was completely lost on Ron.  It made her feel good, and that's all that really mattered.  Harry thought the whole exchange was rather entertaining and with a smile, he grabbed Ron's arm and headed off after Hermione.  

            _French toast.  My favorite.   _Hermione smiled as she entered the Great Hall.  French toast days were always the best.  The whole hall smelled of maple syrup and cinnamon.   She situated herself at the Gryffindor table, followed by Ron and Harry. She set her bag down in the unoccupied seat next to her, intent on thoroughly enjoying the stack of French toast in front of her.  She could fully see the Head Table from her vantage point, when Snape stalked into the room.  She instantly remembered the parchment, and figured she better read it before he confronted her. There may be something she had to prepare for before meeting with him.  She reached into her bag and pulled out the scroll. 

            "What's that, Herm?" Harry managed to mumble through his mouthful of sausage.  Ron glanced over at the parchment and gave Hermione a quizzical look.

            "Oh, just something from Snape.  He must need me to assist with some potions for Madam Pomfrey or something", she offered.  It was very likely that's all it was.  Madam Pomfrey probably had to restock after all the patients she had to attend to during the last few months of the war. She thought she heard Ron utter something along the lines of 'Slimy git' and she turned to look at him, rolling her eyes.  "Really, Ron.  He's not that bad.  You of all people should know that.  If it wasn't for him, you might not be sitting here right now.  I know he's not the most pleasant person to deal with as a teacher, but we've all seen what he had to go through.  Give him the benefit of the doubt, for a change".   She sighed.   Ron was definitely long to hold a grudge, even if he had no real reason behind it.   She didn't really think that he despised Snape as much as he let on but in a way she thought it might be just a little something for him to hold on to of life before war. 

            To her surprise, Ron put his fork down and said, "You're right 'Mione.  I know I owe him a lot.  I guess I should give the great Bat a chance", but he said that with a smirk that told Hermione that there wasn't any real malice behind the comment.   With that she untied the delicate black silk ribbon and began to unroll the tube of parchment.  Ron and Harry, not being overly interested in her side projects with Snape, started on with their usual Quidditch conversation, discussing strategy and arguing about practice schedules.  Ron wasn't keen on the idea of getting up at dawn every other morning to fly around on a broom but Harry made him listen to reason and they settled on a pretty exhausting schedule.  Ron had made the team in 5th year and by 6th year the team realized that he really did have a head for strategy and voted him Captain of the team.  Harry was rather relieved at this because he knew, had it not been for Ron, he would have been stuck with the job.  Having that, on top of everything else he had to do with Prefect and now Head Boy duties, would have been a little too much. 

            Tuning her best friends Quidditch conversation out, Hermione spread the scroll out in front of her, wondering what Snape had in store for her this time.  She focused on the first words printed on the parchment and frowned. _This can't be right...   _

            She blinked and reread the greeting, figuring that she -must- have read it wrong and her brain was playing tricks on her.   Refocusing, she tried to get the words to say anything but what they really did.  

_Dearest Hermione,_


	3. Chapter Two Hermione's Letter

A/N:  Thanks to those who reviewed!!  I was surprised how quickly they came.  I didn't expect anyone to start reading the story so fast : )   A special thanks to Sailor Purgatory for a hugely flattering review… I had to call my husband up to read it  : )  * big hugs * 

Chapter Two

Hermione let the parchment snap shut.  She didn't know what the rest of the letter contained, but she was absolutely sure that she didn't want to read it in the middle of the Great Hall.  She risked a glance in Snape's direction.  _Could someone else have left it on my bag?  Maybe someone left it in the library accidentally._  No.  It specifically said her name in the greeting.  However, it could very well be from someone other than Snape, and it was just coincidence that had him leaving the library just as she got back to her table. Her eyes met the Potion Master's and he gave her a barely perceptible smile and nod. _Oh my GOD!!  It -is- from him!!_  Her mind began racing.  She didn't even no how to begin to process this information.  _Ok.  Calm down, Hermione.  Think._

            She threw the parchment into her bag, and took off to her personal quarters. There was no reason to panic until she read the full letter.  Ron and Harry watched her flee from the room and wondered what could possibly make her abandon French toast for breakfast.  Knowing Hermione, she probably realized that she needed to study for some test that hadn't even been announced yet. 

            Two other sets of eyes followed her panicked retreat from the hall.  One of them delighted with the realization that the parchment had chosen its first victim, the other musing over Hermione's rather bewildered look as she fled the dining hall.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

            Once back in the solace of her rooms, she flopped down on her bed and resolved to read the note.  She didn't realize she had been shaking until she tried to open her bag to retrieve the scroll.   _Calm down, Hermione!!  Panic won't get you anywhere!_ She breathed deeply and attempted to get control of her motor skills.  She opened her bag and grabbed the parchment, wondering how she had had the presence of mind to re-tie the little black ribbon.  _I certainly don't remember doing that, but I guess I was a little out of sorts at the time._  She untied the ribbon and unrolled the scroll for a second time.

_Dearest Hermione,_

_I've gone over in my head a thousand times how I should express myself in this letter.  There is no easy way to say what is in my heart.  I've decided that the most reasonable solution would be to just sit and write and hope it comes out in some understandable form. At this moment, I fully intend on sending this note with no closing salutation.  I don't think I could endure you knowing what is in my heart when I know there is no hope of ever having those feelings returned.  Maybe by the time I actually have to send this I will change my mind, but I don't think I have the courage.  Some people think there is no such thing as love.  I used to be one of those people.  Nothing that had happened in my life gave credence to the existence of such emotion.  But an unbelievable thing happened to me over the last couple years.  I was faced with a person that accepted me for who I am, not who people believe me to be.  I was faced with a person that could offer me an intellectual challenge, as well a philosophical one from time to time. Once I started really paying attention, I began to enjoy picking up on all the little things that make you so special.  The more I paid attention, the more I appreciated the real you.  Then I began actually looking forward to spending time with you.  I was stunned at this realization and tried to smother the feeling that had slowly been growing throughout our time together.  I knew it was preposterous for me to believe that for even one moment you could find comfort in my presence.  But the seed had already been planted, and had begun to grow.  And today after seeing you in the Great Hall for the first time in so many weeks, I realized I was in love with you, Hermione.   Hermione.  I sometimes say your name aloud when I am alone.  I wish you could feel what I feel when I say your name.  The chill momentarily lifts from my heart and for a brief moment I believe that I have the right to be happy.  But the feeling is short lived and I soon remember why I am alone. _

            As she finished the letter, she noticed that tears had started forming in her eyes.  She was confused by this but decided to rationalize it by believing they were tears of sadness for someone who could feel they don't deserve love.  Her analytical mind kicked in and she began taking portions of the text and trying to figure out if they could apply to someone other than Severus Snape.  She had spent a lot of time with various people throughout the last few years, other than Snape.  There are probably many people that feel love doesn't really exist.  Harry has every right to feel that way considering his past.  _No.  Not Harry.  Of course it's not Harry.  He's like a brother to me. _She had had several intellectual and philosophical debates over the years, so that was easily explained away. It was a rather well spoken letter, so that ruled out of several people.  _Definitely not Ron.  He couldn't write something like this. _Then guiltily thought..._  Shame on you Hermione!!_  She briefly considered Draco Malfoy.  They had had many philosophical discussions and he could have felt at one time that love didn't exist.  But she didn't really consistently spend time with Malfoy, so he really wasn't a possibility.

            This line of thought when on quite a while before she finally resigned herself to the fact that this letter was indeed from the one and only Severus Snape.

            She knew it must nearly be time for her first class of the day, so she quickly tried to regain her composure and headed to Transfiguration.   She tucked the scroll neatly under her pillow and rid her bag of the extra books she had been lugging around all morning.  She knew it would be difficult to concentrate while processing the information that Snape may actually have feelings for her, but she felt that she had the presence of mind to keep herself relatively focused.  She hurried down to greet her favorite teacher, Professor McGonagall, as she hadn't had a chance to speak to her since the start of term. 

            "Hermione!" Professor McGonagall called warmly to her star pupil as she entered the room.  "How nice to see you again.  I hope your few short weeks of free time found you well."  She guided Hermione to her usual seat at the very front of the classroom.  "We will be working on the theory behind Animagus transformation today, but I'm sure you are already well versed in the subject", giving Hermione a knowing smile. 

            "Y-yes, Professor.  I'm quite confident in my knowledge of the subject."  Hermione glanced down at her hands.  Were they still shaking?  No... she had managed to calm her nerves enough to project some measure of confidence. Professor McGonagall frowned slightly.  She knew Hermione well enough to know that she wasn't quite herself. 

            "Hermione, Dear.  Is everything alright?" McGonagall asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.  Hermione blinked up at her mentor, wide eyed.  _Am I that transparent? No.  She just knows me too well._  Hermione gave her professor what she hoped to be a reassuring smile.

            "I'm sorry, Professor.  I suppose I'm a little distracted because I forgot to drop some books in my rooms this morning and thought I might be late for class."  She hoped that this would be enough for her professor, but she also didn't feel very comfortable lying to someone she admired as much as Professor McGonagall.  Minerva knew that Hermione wasn't being completely truthful with her, but with students quickly filing into the classroom, she decided it was something best left to another time. 

            Students began settling themselves in the classroom, leaving the two seats on either side of Hermione vacant. They were unofficially reserved for the two young wizards that completed the Gryffindor Three, as classmates had affectionately dubbed the trio.  Eventually Ron and Harry scooted into the two remaining seats, each one giving Hermione a questioning look.  Before she had a chance to try to quickly come up with an excuse for her behavior at breakfast, McGonagall cleared her throat, indicated that class had begun. Hermione silently breathed a sigh of relief. 

            "Today, class, we will be covering the basic theory behind Animagus transformation."  McGonagall's words barely made it to Hermione's ears before she started drifting into her own thoughts.  Two words kept echoing through her mind.  _Dearest Hermione.  Dearest Hermione. Dearest Hermione. _Then onto..._I realized I was in love with you, Hermione.  _This particular phase intrigued her the most.  She could in some respects understand much of the letter.  Her feelings for Severus had indeed changed over the years.  From fear, to awe, to admiration... _Did I just think of him as Severus?  I'm losing my mind.  I'm definitely losing my mind. _But when considering a declaration of love, it was just... well... unbelievable, frankly.  She certainly never had any feelings of love toward the Potions Master.  However, when someone's life is so devoid of love and heartfelt emotion, maybe over the years you become more sensitive to your own emotions.  Maybe he just realizes that he has wasted so much time with hate, that he feels its time to open his heart to someone for once in his life. 

            There -had- been times...she must admit.  Times when she was a bit flustered when their hands brushed against each other while working on a particular potion.  Times when they would be in a heated debate over one subject or another, and she would be drawn into his sheer passion for the subject matter.  His eyes.  It was his eyes that were so captivating in these discussions.  As a child she had feared those eyes.  But as a young woman, she sometimes felt that she could drown in their depths.  They weren't cold, as many believed.  They were merely guarded, most of the time.  She had the benefit of really seeing into them when he wasn't trying to hide himself from the world.  During these discussions, he would sometimes catch her staring, and she would quickly look down, feeling the heat rising in her cheeks and hoping her hair hid the telltale blush. 

            If she were honest with herself, she might even say that at times she may have begun to develop somewhat of a crush on Severus Snape.  But she quickly tried to hide those feelings, even from herself.  What would Harry and Ron say if she told them she had a crush on Snape?  Harry would probably understand, after his initial reaction of disgust.  Ron...  Ron would be more difficult.  She knew that Ron had had a crush on her at one time, but they never had anything more than a deep friendship and the love that comes with such a bond. She feared that such a revelation would be a real test to their friendship.  How could she have feelings for Snape, but not Ron, so many years ago?  She realized that there was no point to this line of thinking, because she didn't love Snape, did she?  _Do I?  Ugh.. Listen to me.  Of course I don't.  I'm more rational than that.  Love is something that comes through sharing an actual relationship beyond friendship for some measure of time. _She and Snape had merely shared a lab.  Nothing more.  

            But she knew that it was more than that.  She had decided that this was something that she just wouldn't be able to come to terms with in the span of a single class and just as she was coming out of her reverie, she heard McGonagall announce the evening's homework, and dismiss the class. 

            Ron and Harry knew better than to disturb Mione when she was in one of her 'zone out' times.  It didn't happen very often, so when it did, it was better to just leave her to her musings.  Something was obviously going on in her head that she had to sort out. It could be anything from how to solve some complicated Arithmancy problem to how to talk the house elves into accepting a salary.  They watched as she absently slid her unopened Transfiguration book into her bag, and made her way out of the classroom.  They wouldn't see her again until lunchtime. They had Divination and she had Advanced Arithmancy.  Maybe they would get a chance to get her to snap out of it a bit during lunch. 

            McGonagall noticed Hermione's distraction as well.  She considered mentioning it to Professor Dumbledore, but then she dismissed the idea, realizing that the Headmaster probably already knows, somehow.  If Hermione's behavior continued, maybe she would take her aside and have a more in depth discussion with her.  For now, she would just let things run their course. 

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

Thankfully, she had been able to get through her Advanced Arithmancy class without getting too distracted by her recent revelations.  However, as she got closer to the Great Hall to join Ron and Harry for lunch, she began to get a little nervous. Professor Snape was known for skipping lunch quite often, but there was still a chance that he would be there, and she was unsure of how to act around him. If she completely ignored him, he might take it as disinterest.  If she somehow acknowledged that she had read the letter, it would make things uncomfortable, until they could speak more privately on the matter.  She decided that Severus was a logical man and wouldn't expect her to act any different, lest she give their relationship away to her fellow classmates.  _Relationship?  Since when do we have a relationship?   Two hours ago I didn't even think we had any real friendship and now I'm thinking along the lines of a relationship?   Hermione, get a grip!!_  She stopped long enough to regain her composure for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, and confidently walked into the Great Hall and directly to the Gryffindor table. 

            Harry and Ron were already seated and had begun eating their lunch.  Divination was a full 20 minutes shorter than Advanced Arithmancy, so even though it was much farther away from the Great Hall, they still got there before her. "Hey, 'Mione", Harry said, trying to figure out if she was still lost in thought over something.   She smiled at them, and sat down in the vacant seat on the other side of the table. She didn't realize she was doing it at the time, but she had unconsciously been trying to sit so that she would have a better view of the Head Table, particularly the section a certain Potions Master frequently occupied.  Harry watched her carefully but didn't notice anything odd, and she certainly didn't seem distracted anymore, so he decided to just let it go.  

            Ron, however, had elected to be less tactful, and blurted out, "Mione...what in Merlin's name was going on this morning to make you leave your French toast behind completely untouched?"   She had been afraid of this but fortunately she had come up with a plausible excuse on her way to Arithmancy.  She waved her hand distractedly in Ron's direction.

            "Oh, it was nothing really.  I just realized that I forgot my Transfigurations book, and didn't want to be late for Professor McGonagall's class.  It wouldn't look very good if the Head Girl showed up for class late."  She smiled at herself thinking this was surely the perfect excuse to keep Ron from questioning her further in the matter.  Ron looked up at her, not fooled in the least.  

            "Whatever you say, Mione.  Although, it seems kind of strange that you would rush to get a book that you didn't even bother to open during the entire class."  Harry knew that no good could come from this conversation, and decided now would be an opportune time to change the subject.  

            "Do you guys have any plans for the afternoon?  We don't have Care of Magical Creatures until the period just before dinner."  During 6th year, the trio had started somewhat of a tradition of spending the nicest afternoons out by the lake just relaxing. Since Hermione spent so much time in the library, and Harry and Ron spent so much time discussing Quidditch tactics, it was a good time for them to get together and just enjoy each others company. Ron quickly agreed that it was a great time to go out to the lake and as Harry turned to Hermione to see what she thought about the idea, he noticed her eyes widen and she was completely ignoring him.  He followed her gaze and ....  Snape?   Why would she have that kind of reaction to seeing Snape? 

            Hermione vaguely registered Harry saying something about the lake, when a movement made her glance up just in time to see Snape walk into the room.  His hair was pulled into a ponytail and he looked....handsome.  She watched as he sat himself down at the Head Table and started serving himself lunch.  _He has such precise hands.  Even something as simple as putting peas on his plate is an art form. Ugh...listen to me!!_  But she didn't listen to herself.  Instead she let her eyes travel up his chest, neck, well-defined chin, lips. She rested momentarily on his lips. _He has rather nice lips.  They look strong but soft.  Ack.  There I go again. _She shifted her eyes still higher until she...was staring directly into his eyes.  It took a moment to register that he had caught her...well... checking him out.  She mentally covered her face with her hands.  She didn't want to look like a lunatic, so in reality she just closed her eyes, and tried to turn her attention back to whatever Harry had been trying to discuss.  "What was that about the lake, Harry?"

            Harry, still trying to figure out what Snape had to do with Hermione being so distracted, replied, "Uh...oh.  I was just wondering if you and Ron wanted to go out to the lake during our break this afternoon. Ron said he could but, um, do you want to come too?"  Harry had a strong urge to ask Hermione what had gotten into her, but something inside him told him to let it alone.  He wasn't one to go against his gut instinct, so he figured he would just keep quiet for now.  Ron had apparently been oblivious to the whole thing, busy devouring 3 whole sandwiches in the span of seven minutes, so there was no need to worry about him bringing it up.  Harry didn't get the feeling that she was afraid of Snape, or anything like that.  Best just to let her bring it up, should she feel the need. 

            "Sure, Harry. I'd love to go.  I could use the break.  I want to read up on Scoprire Occultare today and tomorrow so this will probably be my only chance to get to spend any time with you guys." They both seemed satisfied with this, and the remainder of the lunch hour continued as normal.  They talked about relatively mundane things, mostly just gossip they heard in the course of their day, but it was nice to chat about such silly things after what they had been faced with over the last year. 

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

            Hermione made her way up to her private dorm, electing to forego spending the evening in the library.  After lunch, the day had gone pretty normal.  She spent some time with Harry and Ron by the lake, and then the trio headed to Advanced Care of Magical Creatures.  Hagrid had decided to spend some time away from Hogwarts to join Charlie Weasley in Romania studying dragons.  Remus Lupin had taken over the job for the time being.  Everyone seemed to be in agreement that the class would be much safer this term. They did, however, all miss Hagrid and would welcome his return after the Christmas holiday, at which time Hagrid would teach Advance Care and Remus would continue with the younger students. 

            After Professor Lupin's class, they all made their way to the Great Hall for dinner.  Hermione sunk into her bed and silently scolded herself for not being able to keep her eyes off Snape for nearly the whole meal.  When he would catch her staring, he would smile and she could see a look of mild bewilderment on his face.  Each time she would blush and silently go back to eating her meal. Well... she was more playing with her meal.  She didn't have much of an appetite, what with so much on her mind.  She made some excuse about doing transfiguration homework (that wasn't due until the following Tuesday) and quickly retreated to the comfort of her rooms. 

            She flopped herself onto her stomach and buried her face in her pillow.  She wasn't used to not being in complete control of a situation, and this whole thing with Severus was just a little unnerving. _Severus... it kind of just flows off your tongue.  It's a rather sexy name. Ugh...Hush, Hermione!! _She hugged her pillow and her fingers brushed against the parchment she had hidden under it earlier that day.  She found herself wrapping her fingers around the scroll, just holding it and replaying its contents in her mind. _I realized I was in love with you, Hermione...Dearest Hermione.... Hermione.  I sometimes say your name aloud when I am alone.  I wish you could feel what I feel when I say your name.  _She could feel her heart fluttering slightly as she went over these lines.  It was strangely calming coming to terms with the fact that Severus was in love with her. She then did something that was decidedly un-Hermione-like.  She fell asleep in her school robes. 


	4. Chapter Three

A/N  I know I said I would only be posting one chapter every Friday, but I couldn't help myself.  I'm sure no one will mind  ; ) Thanks again for all the great reviews!!  Its amazing how motivating a few nice words can be  : )

Chapter Three

            Severus Snape sat waiting for his Thursday morning Double Potions students to show up.  He ran over the events of the last two days, in his mind.  For the most part they were just like any other day, except for one thing.  Miss Hermione Granger had been acting, shall we say....strange, during the last few mealtimes.  It seems to have started Tuesday morning when he spotted her at breakfast. They had developed somewhat of an understanding over the last few years, and he found himself being rather civil with her, after a time. So, when he spotted her in the Great Hall that morning, giving her a courteous smile and nod, she literally bolted from the hall.  It was quite perplexing, really.

            The next incident happened that same day, at lunch.  He sat down and started scooping peas onto his plate when he got the eerie sensation that someone was watching him.  As luck would have it, it happened to be the first person he glanced toward among the student tables.  It seemed that Miss Granger was ...well...  checking him out, for lack of a better phrase. He continued to watch her perusal of him when she finally made contact with his eyes. Realizing what she had been doing she quickly looked away as if nothing had happened.  But Severus knew that all was not right in the world.  People just didn't 'check him out'.  He was Professor Snape, the Greasy Git...or Slimy Git, depending on you preferred insult.  He was a Bat, he was evil.  To his students he was all those things, and more.  Yes, Hermione wasn't just a typical student.  In fact, he had grown quite fond of her over the years. She was a formidable verbal sparring partner, in times when they had to wait for a particular potion to brew.  She was definitely the most gifted potions student he ever worked with.  She had certainly grown out of her 'know-it-all' stage years ago.  And she had grown quite beautiful over the years.

            _Beautiful?  When did I notice she was beautiful?_  Well, it was probably the first time he had to work closely with her in his lab, while preparing potions that would be needed for the inevitable war.  She was only 16 at the time..well, closer to 17, realistically.  Her year spent using the time turner had put a considerable difference between her chronological age and her biological age, according to the Headmaster. But at that time he did notice that she was becoming quite beautiful.  It wasn't a typical kind of beautiful.  It was something more subtle.  Something that is very rare indeed.  Her hands were nearly as precise as his, when it came to preparing potions, and his were only slightly more precise given benefit of experience.  With proper training and experience, she could become a Potions Master in her own right.  _Master?  What would one call a female potions expert?  There has never really been one that I can recall.  _He rolled his eyes slightly to himself. _The things you think about, Severus.  Now, where were you?_  Oh yes...beautiful. 

            Yes, she was certainly beautiful, but that wasn't what he found most attractive about her.  _Attractive?  Really, Severus._  He scoffed silently for letting himself fall into an unwelcome train of thought yet again. _Well, there isn't a man alive that could consider her unattractive, so I'm just being fair._ He tried to rationalize his thoughts. But it wasn't her outward beauty that he was so drawn to.  It was everything else about her that was so intriguing.  Even little things like the way she tucked her hair behind her ear before leaning over a cauldron. Like the way she got a tiny little wrinkle between her eyebrows when she was deep in concentration.  He also loved her passion for books, which rivaled his own. _Love?  Yes, yes...just an expression really.  'Love' is used far to freely._  Maybe there was a more appropriate word.  Respect.  Yes, that was acceptable. He respected her passion for books.  

            As the months progressed, he had actually found himself looking forward to her company, which was something he couldn't really say about anyone else.  When they would be working together in his lab, he noticed that he would sometimes get a little flustered when they were working particularly close together.  He mentally dismissed this as just lack of regular human interaction, particularly with the opposite sex.  He rarely was in the company of a woman, particularly one as beautiful as Hermione.  _Hermione?  When did I start calling her Hermione? Although...it does have a sort of...sensual ring to it.  _He frowned to himself. _Severus!  Stop that line of thinking this instant!!_  

            Toward the end of the war, he had found himself becoming very protective of her, not that he would let anyone else know that.  For some reason the thought of losing her to the hands of Death Eaters was...unbearable.  Of course, it would be horrible to lose anyone to Voldemort's followers, but losing Hermione would feel like a personal loss. He started coming up with more and more assignments for her, just so he could keep her under his watchful eye. And during the times where he would need to be 'in the field', so to speak, he would give her a particularly long list of things to attend to in his lab, so he would be assured that she was safely tucked away somewhere, and out of danger.  He always put extra wards around his lab when he left, even though the Headmaster assured him that she was quite safe.  Being muggleborn, she was bound to be a target.  Not only was she muggleborn, she was a smarter and more talented witch than any Death Eater he knew and he was quite sure that Voldemort and his cronies found that quite irksome. 

            So, he was quite relieved when Hermione came through the war completely unscathed.  He had to admit, he missed their captivating conversations. He missed watching her brew particularly hard potions.  She put herself completely into her work, not unlike himself and he found it rather enchanting. 

            The Potions Master was drawn out of is reverie by the sound of students filtering into his classroom; Double Potions with his 7th year Slytherins and Gryffindors. Over the years Hermione had come to be quite versed in potions and he could rely on her to be prepared for class when no one else was.  In the beginning he would deliberately not ask her to answer any of his questions, even though he knew she was the most likely student to have the proper grasp of the subject.  But after years of, frankly, being disgusted at his other pupils' lack of initiative in researching upcoming topics, he finally relented at some point and allowed her to answer his questions from time to time. No doubt she had picked up on his allusion that they would be discussing Scoprire Occultare today. 

            "Scoprire Occultare. Can anyone enlighten the class as to the particular nuances of this substance?" He scanned the room thinking that maybe just once someone would surprise him and actually come to class prepared.  No one budged.  He sighed, and pinched the area between his eyebrows, trying to will away the headache that was sure to plague him for the rest of the day.  He waved his hand in Hermione's general direction and muttered, "Go ahead".

            Hermione stood up, purposefully avoiding the Professor's eyes. "Scorprire Occultare is a crystalline substance comprised of several rare ingredients and is particularly difficult to make. Slivered, frozen Ashwinder eggs, added at the precise time and potion temperature, turns the mixture instantly to powdered form."  She dared a look up to her Professor to see if he wanted her to continue.  He gave her a slight nod with an uncharacteristically gentle look on his face. Fortunately, the class was focused on Hermione and didn't notice his slip. She continued, "Generally, the powder is added to ink while an incantation is spoken, in order to send classified correspondence. If someone were to receive such correspondence, they would be able to read the original intent of the note.  However, if an unintended viewer were to try to read it, it would merely look like a shopping list or a bread recipe."  There was much more that could be said of Scoprire Occultare but she figured that was sufficient.

            "Very good, Miss Granger.  You may be seated."  He nodded his head toward her as she sat down.  He was aware that she was avoiding looking into his eyes, but considering her behavior at mealtimes over the last couple days, he wasn't surprised.  Not that people much liked making eye contact with him anyway.  Most people avoided it at all costs.  Miss Granger was different though.  Up until the last couple of days, she had no qualms with looking at him directly.  In a way it was a good thing that she was avoiding eye contact, because he found his gaze wandering to her quite often today, and if she were to catch -him- staring...

            "Scoprire Occultare can be used in its crystalline form, as well.  It can be sprinkled over small objects to make them appear to be something completely different to a Muggle onlooker.  For instance, should someone want to be able to travel among Muggles while holding their wand, their wand would appear to be nothing more than a pen or pencil. For those of you unfamiliar with Muggle objects, a pen is a Muggle writing instrument."  He scanned his class and from the looks on their faces, most of them indeed knew what a pen was.  The more puzzled expressions came from his Slytherin students, not surprisingly.  He continued, "It can also be sprinkled over a blank parchment and is very handy in this capacity.  With the proper incantation, the parchment would then show the viewer what they -need- to see.  Consider you are walking through a wizarding town that is unfamiliar to you.  You may be in need of finding an inn.  You would pull out the parchment, and upon viewing it a map of the town with directions to the inn would immediately be visible.  However, this isn't always reliable because what you think you need and what you truly need at any given time may be two completely different things."  

            He informed his class that they would, in fact, be brewing this complicated mixture and he would be putting them in pairs of his own selection for the project.  He began running through is prepared list of lab partners, beginning with, "Zambini and Weasley, Malfoy and Potter, Crabb and Thomas, Goyle and Finnigan, Granger and Longbottom..."  He continued on until finally, "Parkinson and Bulstrode."   He had tried to keep to strictly Slytherin/Gryffindor matches, but considering the rarity of most of the ingredients, he didn't want to risk a ruined potion due to Mr. Longbottom's knack for melting his cauldron.  The students quickly arranged themselves into their assigned pairs and started gathering the ingredients for the potion.  Hermione opened her bag to get out more parchment for taking notes, but when she pulled out the roll of paper, a pure white scroll tied with a delicate black silk ribbon spilled out and rolled along the tabletop, bound for the floor. Hermione's eyes widened.  She was sure she had left that under her pillow this morning, and she certainly didn't put it in her bag.  Before she could reflect more on the matter, she watched it roll quickly along the tabletop, right into the hands of.... Professor Snape.

            Severus was walking along the desks, eyeing each of the students' ingredient preparations, when he saw Miss Granger lose control of a rolled parchment.  He quickly grabbed it before it fell to the floor and handed it back to her.  "You'd do well to take better care of your things, Miss Granger", and with that he continued on to the rest of the tables. Hermione thought her heart might leap out of her chest when she saw Snape grab her parchment.  If he knew it was the same note that he sent to her, he made no indication, and she quickly recovered herself enough to continue on with her assignment. 

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

            Dinner had been particularly difficult for Severus Snape that evening.  He kept finding himself watching Hermione intently, and more often than not, she would catch him staring before he had sense enough to pay attention to his meal.  When he was actually able to focus on the plate before him, he would merely stab the food lying there.  Severus was not one to be unable to keep his emotions in check.  In fact, he was an expert at keeping them in check, considering his previous line of work.  Being a spy among Death Eaters, one must have total control over themselves lest they give themselves away. But he was out of his element, and he found himself longing to be in the company of Miss Granger once again, for one of their entrancing conversations. 

            He stalked through the hallways of the dungeons and approached his chambers.  He whispered, "Nobody ever goes in, and nobody ever comes out", and the door swung open. He briefly wondered what Lucius Malfoy would think if he found out that Severus' password was a line from a Muggle movie, but then he grinned. _He probably doesn't think about much, being surrounded by Dementors in Azkaban. _

            His office was pretty much what people would expect from their Potions Master.  He didn't particularly like visitors, and put great effort into making it as unwelcoming as possible.  Should anyone venture farther into his quarters they would probably be quite surprised.  The study, which was the first room beyond his office, was rather warm and comforting.  It had a large fireplace, which the house elves had taken care to light before he returned from dinner, two comfortable but stately armchairs, and nearly every wall was lined with shelves of books from floor to ceiling.  In addition there was a black walnut desk with a burgundy leather reading chair, where he spent most of his time in the evenings.  

            He walked over to one of the lower shelves that opened up to several bottles of various Muggle whiskeys.  He poured himself a small glass of Macallan 10 Year Old Malt, and took a sip of the amber liquid. _Wizards certainly have nothing over Muggles when it comes to -this-. _He made his way over to his desk, and sat down.  The first thing he noticed was a crisp white parchment tied with a thin black silk ribbon.  _Strange.  I'm sure this isn't something I left here._ He vaguely remembered seeing Miss Granger with such a scroll in Potions class today, but he was unsure of how it could have ended up in his study.  He decided to read it before coming to any further conclusions and untied the little ribbon, flattening the parchment out before him on his desk.

_Dearest Severus,_


	5. Chapter Four Severus' Letter

A/N  Thanks so much for the great reviews and huge thanks to Cynthia Weasley for all beta help…she's actually got talent….I'm just pretending  J  Go read her fic!!!  Is very nummmmy. 

Chapter Four

Severus Snape stared down at the parchment before him.  He was having trouble believing what was written at the top of the scroll.  _Dearest Severus..._  He hadn't even begun to read the rest of the letter, and he could feel his heart start beating a little faster at what the note may contain.  _Ok, Severus. There is no need to panic over a mere greeting.  Maybe the content of the letter is something entirely different. _This seemed reasonable.  He tried to calm himself and slow his heart rate down just a bit before continuing with the letter. 

_Dearest Severus,_

_I've started this letter at least ten times and I'm now sitting next to a pile of crumpled parchment.  I have tried writing what I feel but it always seems to come out sounding like the musings of a girl with a crush.  But it's so much more than that.  I thought I knew where my life was going. I've had everything planned in my head since the day I came to Hogwarts. It seems, however, that my heart has different ideas of where it thinks my life should go.  My first impression of you was...well...probably the impression you want to give people.  I thought you were mean spirited and just plain cranky.  I know differently now.  I feel blessed to have learned who the real Severus Snape is. He's a kind, warm, funny and extremely intelligent man.  That's the kind of person I always expected to fall in love with.  I long for your company and it leaves me empty inside when I can't look forward to a riveting conversation with you.  I don't know if I'm in love with you.  My rational mind tells me that it's not possible to be in love with someone you have no real relationship with yet.  But I feel that is the direction my heart is taking me.  I do believe I am falling in love with you, Severus Snape. _

            Snape's mind began racing.  Could this note be from Hermione?  It wasn't signed so there was no way of knowing for sure if it was from her.  _You mean it could be from one of the many women knocking down your door, Severus? _ No.  He knew that it must be from Hermione. So many thoughts were fighting for attention that he couldn't focus on anything.  He let out a frustrated growl and flopped himself into one of the armchairs by the fire, hoping that the warm glow would help him to regroup a bit. The fire crackled and the head of Professor Dumbledore appeared in the fireplace before him.   Trying to appear completely calm, Severus mustered his voice, "Good evening Headmaster.  What can I do for you"?  

            "Good evening, Severus.  I was hoping I could have a little chat with you in my chambers, if you aren't too busy right now."  The Headmaster gave him a warm smile that went perfectly with the trademark twinkle of his eyes.  Snape rose from the chair he was occupying and brushed some non-existent lint from his robes.

            "Certainly, Headmaster. I will be up shortly."  With that, Dumbledore's head disappeared from the fireplace, and Snape left his chambers. The walk to the gargoyle that blocked passage to Dumbledore's office seemed to go by in an instant.  Before he knew it he was standing in front of it muttering, "Scrumdiddlyumptious", and the gargoyle leaped aside, revealing the spiral staircase that carried visitors up to Dumbledore's office.  The stairs neared Dumbledore's chambers and Severus had to resist the urge to just climb the remaining steps to the Headmaster's room. But that was not typical Snape behavior and he knew it.  He joined Albus in his office, and the aged wizard gestured for him to have a seat.

            He sat down and nodded to Dumbledore, "Thank you, Headmaster.  To what do I owe this invitation?" Albus smiled at him warmly.  He shook his head and said, "Severus, my boy.  Must you be so formal? I simply wanted to see if things were going well for you.

            "Yes, Albus. Things seem to be progressing as usual." He tried not to meet the Headmaster's eyes.  He basically owed the man before him his life, and was not keen on lying to him, but what could he say?  'Well, I think I'm in love with one of my students, and I received a note from her today basically telling me that she may be falling in love with me as well.'  No, that just wouldn't do. _ Dear Merlin!  Did I just say I was in love?_  He shifted uncomfortably in his chair.  Dumbledore just looked at him thoughtfully.  He could swear the man was able to stare into his soul.

            "I worry about you, Severus.  I fear you will spend a lifetime forcing yourself to suffer for things you did before you were even old enough to realize they were wrong."  Albus leaned forward slightly in his chair and stared directly, and unblinkingly, into Snape's eyes, " You know, Severus, you are allowed to be happy.  If there is something... or _someone_," giving Severus and even deeper look, " that makes you happy, then you must do everything you can to hold on to that person."  With that the Headmaster sat back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap.

            The Potions Master sighed inwardly. _Is there nothing that gets by this man?_  Severus stood up. "Thank you, Albus.  I will certainly take your advice into consideration. I really must be going now, to prepare for tomorrow's classes.  Good evening, Sir." And with that, he started toward the door to exit the Headmaster's chambers.

            "Thank you for stopping in, Severus. Please feel free to come and chat anytime.  And do heed the advice of an old man who knows what it feels like not to go after what is in your heart." Dumbledore stood to walk Snape the rest of the way to the door. "Oh, and one more thing.  Madame Pomfrey has informed me that her stock is in need of replenishing.  I know you are quite busy with your classes...Maybe it would be prudent for you to enlist the help of one of your more gifted students?  Oh, say... Miss Granger for instance?" He patted the Potions Master on the shoulder.  "Well...I'm sure you can work something out.  Good evening, Severus." And with that Snape left Dumbledore's office.  

            Once Severus was again on the other side of the gargoyle, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.  It was just all too much information for his brain to process for one evening.  He had resigned himself to the fact, a long time ago, that he would be alone forever.  He felt it was fair punishment for his wrong doings. He barely wanted to hope that he could actually be happy for once in his life, lest the happiness be snatched away somehow, leaving him far more bitter than before. He pushed himself off the wall and made for his chambers in the dungeons.  This subject was definitely more suited for contemplation in the confines of his quarters, rather than out here in the open for everyone to see.  He certainly didn't want any of his students seeing him in the state he was now. 

            Heading down one of the staircases toward the dungeons, he nearly trod on one of the trick steps and smirked to himself at the gossip that would sweep through the school should any students see him in such a mess.  Terry Boot had been coming up the stairs at that precise moment, and noticed the uncharacteristic smile on Snape's face.  Knowing that it would be no good for a student to actually catch him smiling, he frowned at Mr. Boot and took 15 points from Ravenclaw " just for existing".  Yes, that was typical Snape behavior and should be sufficient enough to keep Boot quiet.

            With a whispered, "Nobody ever goes in, and nobody ever comes out" he was back in the comfort of his chambers.  He decided that he was too exhausted to do any class preparations and immediately made his way back to his bedroom, glancing briefly at the scroll on his desk as he passed.  He sat on the edge of his bed and thought about the conversation with Albus.  Normally, he would never in a million years consider a relationship with a student.  But, he had to admit that Hermione was far from typical, and she was more of an equal than a student, after these last few years.  Her participation in Potions class was a mere formality anymore, so favoritism wouldn't necessarily be an issue.  Additionally, she was, by all standards, an adult…and perfectly capable of making such decisions for herself.  If, by some miracle, she chose to pursue a relationship with him, he could actually see himself being happy for once in his life.  

            The Headmaster certainly didn't have a problem with the two of them indulging in a more personal relationship.  Severus smiled to himself.  Yes, this could actually be the right thing for him.  He stood up and began to prepare for bed.  Tomorrow could very well prove to be the beginning of a new life for him.  For the first time in many years, Severus knew he was going to have a peaceful night's sleep.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

            In the next room, while Severus was sound asleep, the pure white parchment suddenly turned sage green and new words formed on it surface.  The little black ribbon turned silver, and the scroll disappeared.


	6. Chapter Five The Boy Who Was Confused

A/N  This is unedited version so it will change slightly in future

Chapter Five  The Boy Who Was Confused

            Harry Potter sat in Double Potions wondering what he had done in his lifetime to deserve the death sentence that Snape had just handed out.  They were to be working on a substance called Scoprire Occultare in class and each student was assigned a lab partner.  He, of course, was paired with Draco Malfoy.  True, there wasn't the same malice behind their relationship, and he actually didn't really mind working with the blond Slytherin.  The thing that irked him was the fact that he knew Snape did it just to be contrary. 

Even after working together throughout the war, he and Snape had never really mended their differences.  They were civil, but Harry would always be James Potter's son, and that made for bad blood between them.  Snape still was harder on him than the other students and he still went out of his way to make Harry's life more difficult than it had to be. So, he was sentenced to weeks of working along side Draco Malfoy for Snape's twisted form of amusement. 

Draco Malfoy…such an enigma.  He spent his first 4 years at Hogwarts making his fellow classmates wish he had been born without a tongue.  He never really did anything physically damaging, aside from an inconsequential fistfight or magical scuff, but he could tear a person apart with words alone.  Harry had been the target of his scathing remarks more times than he could remember.  The strange thing was, while Ron and Hermione (as much as Hermione would try to deny it) would let those words pierce right through them, Harry was never really hurt as badly by them.  Then during their fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry noticed a definite change in the young Malfoy. No one else commented on it, but Harry knew it was there.  Malfoy was… nicer, if such a thing could be said about a Malfoy. 

It was a gradual change.  First it just seemed his remarks were slightly less scathing.  Then his tirades seemed to become less frequent.  Harry would find himself studying the Slytherin just trying to figure him out.  Draco caught him staring a time or ten, but he never said a word to Harry about it.  That was most surprising to Harry; surely a Malfoy wouldn't pass up a chance to humiliate him somehow.  But he did pass up that chance, and it puzzled Harry greatly. 

When sixth year came, Harry started to notice even bigger changes in Draco.  However, it was still things that no one else seemed to notice, like his increasing impatience with his fellow Slytherins, and his total lack of muggleborn harassment. Then, near the end of their sixth year, a strange thing happened during potions class.  Draco Malfoy, son of Vodemort's right hand man Lucius Malfoy, defended Neville Longbottom.  Needless to say, everyone was quite shocked, particularly Neville.  Snape had been especially hard on Neville that morning and the boy was shaking so badly that he accidentally put three grains of Dead Sea sand into his cauldron, instead of two.  The result was 6 people, including Snape, being sprayed with the substance.  Unfortunately, each victim started sprouting rather large dandelions from anywhere the potion hit.  Snape, who had happened to get a scalpful of the mixture, started barking orders to people, with his head covered in bright yellow flowers.  While most people were fearful enough of Snape to maintain their composure, there were a couple people (Seamus and Dean…go figure) that simply couldn't keep from cracking a smile at the spectacle before them.  This, of course, enraged Snape even further but unfortunately he took it out on Neville. 

Snape starting spouting insults at Neville that were so demeaning that the students just stared at him in shock.  Harry had glanced at Draco during all of this, figuring the Slytherin was probably finding it all quite funny, but to his surprise Draco seemed to be getting angrier and angrier, with each insult.  Then Snape made the mistake of actually insulting Neville's parents and that's when Harry saw Draco snap.  He stormed over to Snape, and in a voice that was entirely un-Malfoy-like he bellowed, "How DARE you call yourself a teacher??!!!  I've never heard such absolute rubbish in my entire life!!  Neville's parents are probably two of the greatest Aurors that ever lived and you have the AUDACITY to speak of them in such a manor?  A teacher's job is to encourage students and build their self-confidence, not to use them as their personal whipping post!! " Snape stood and stared at Draco, mouth opened and completely dumfounded.  He was so caught off guard that his star pupil would dare to speak to him like this that he was, for the first time in his life, at a loss for words.

Malfoy continued, "With parents such as his, Neville has more potential than most of us here.  He certainly has more than me, but you beat him down every chance you get, leaving him no self-confidence whatsoever!!"  With that, Draco walked over to Neville and shook his hand.  Then he picked up his books and walked out the door.  

Snape, who was still in complete shock over this event, closed his mouth and walked out of the class as well, in the exact opposite direction of Draco.  The rest of the class stood about for a couple of minutes, unsure of what to do, but slowly people started packing up their things to leave class.  Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville began cleaning up Neville's mess, and surprisingly Crabb and Goyle stayed to help them as well.  No words were spoken; everyone seemed to know that such situations don't call for a discussion.  

            That was the day Draco effectively 'came out'.  With Dumbledore's blessing, he announced to the school that he had been working as a spy for the side of Light for nearly a year.  He explained how he used his common sense, rather than his sense of family loyalty, and came to the conclusion that being a Death Eater was, frankly, insane.  He had made this announcement during dinner, and while most of the students just watched him, not quite sure how to react to such a proclamation, Blaise Zambini, a rather pretty Slytherin girl, stood up, walked over to Draco, and gave him a warm hug. 

            Harry shuddered a bit at the recollection.  He remembered feeling what could only be described as jealousy toward Blaise. He had quickly dismissed the feeling at the time, but in the last few days of their sixth year, he found himself being caught staring at Draco Malfoy more and more often.  During their final feast that year, when Draco caught Harry staring for the umpteenth time, Draco actually smiled at Harry.  It was a small smile, but it was the last thing Harry ever expected to get from Malfoy.  He quickly turned away and he could feel his ears heating up, like he had just taken a goblet of Pepper Up.  

            Over the next year Harry had very little contact with Draco.  They each had their own responsibilities during the war and it was very rare that they would end up at the same place at the same time.  In a way, Harry was disappointed with this, because he wanted to get to know the new and improved Draco Malfoy.  The few times he did run into Malfoy were very brief, and the encounters left Harry feeling strangely unsatisfied; the feeling you get when you lose a book after reading only half of it. 

            Now he was sitting directly next to Draco Malfoy, and he would have several weeks of working with him tirelessly for two straight hours every Monday and Thursday.  He was mad at Snape for trying to derive some sick pleasure by pairing him with Malfoy, but at the same time he was actually looking forward to the next few weeks. 

Draco faced him, "Ok, Potter.  I'll prepare the first 5 ingredients and you work on the last 4. Sound good? "  Harry glanced up at Malfoy, and for a split second he wasn't sure if he would be able to speak. _When did he get so bloody gorgeous?_  Harry blinked.  _Where the hell did –that- come from? _ Swallowing almost imperceptibly, he muttered,  "Uh, yeah.  Sounds good," and started chopping and shredding the ingredients on his portion of the list.  He frowned to himself wondering why on earth he would think Draco, a -boy-, was gorgeous.  He was busy crushing banshee fingernails in his mortar and pestle and staring off into space when he felt a hand cover his.

            "Potter, it says to grind lightly, not totally pulverize to a fine powder.  Where exactly is your mind today, because it's surely not on your potions assignment."  He turned and Malfoy was looking at him questioningly, one eyebrow slightly raised.  _Gods, I hope he doesn't move his hand…and does he have any clue how damn sexy he is when he does that with his eyebrow?_  Harry's eyes widened, wondering why his thoughts seemed to have taken on a life of their own.  He blinked hard and quickly stared down at the table, purposefully avoiding a look at Draco's hand over his. Draco, clearly thinking that Harry had quite gone off his rocker, frowned slightly and said, "Harry, is everything ok?  You are acting really odd." 

            Forcing himself not to look in Draco's direction, he muttered at the desk, "Uh…yeah.  Fine.  Thanks" and went back to pulverizing his banshee fingernails.  Draco sighed, and took the mortar and pestle away from Harry.  Fortunately the fingernails weren't one of the rare and expensive ingredients on the list but he figured in order to keep Snape from having a hissy fit, he better prepare the rest of the ingredients himself, just to be safe.  Harry just sat there, looking straight at the table. 

            "Don't worry about it Potter.  I can work on this stuff.  Even 'The Boy Who Lived' has to have an off day every now and again."   He knew this would get Harry to look up at him, which is exactly why he said it.  Harry hated to be called that, and true to form, Harry frowned and opened his mouth to say something back to Draco.  Draco held up a hand, giving Harry a little smirk, "Just kidding, Potter.  I was just trying to get you to snap out of it."   With that Harry actually smiled.  They were having a civilized conversation.  Ok.  Maybe it wasn't exactly a conversation, but at least they weren't at each other's throats. 

            "Sorry about that Malfoy.  Just have something on my mind, is all.   You don't have to do all this yourself.  I can help…and 'no' I'm not going to ruin any of Snape's rare and expensive ingredients."  He gave Draco a smirk that was worthy of a Malfoy, and they continued with their potion preparation without further incident.  However, the entire time, in the back of Harry's mind, he wondered at the memory of Malfoy's hand over his. 

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

The next few days were a little fuzzy in Harry's mind.  It seemed that he was having trouble concentrating, and each time he found his thoughts wandering, they were headed straight to the image of a certain Slytherin's hand over his. To make matters worse, Draco had caught him staring no less than three times at each meal. By the third time during any given meal, Draco would actually chuckle and shake his head.  Sunday, after dinner, Hermione finally pulled Harry aside.   "Harry, are you guys just going to keep making eyes at each other, or are you actually going to do something about it?"  Harry frowned at his best friend. 

            "Wha?   What are you talking about, Mione?"  Harry was totally confused at this point, having no idea what she could possibly mean.

            "Harry, it's so obvious you guys want each other. Well, it is to me, anyway.  I doubt anyone else has noticed anything but you can't hide it from me.  Besides, I think you would make a cute couple."  Hermione smiled at Harry but just received a completely blank look from him.  Gods, he really didn't know what she meant. "Harry, you really don't know what I'm talking about, do you?"

            Harry shook his head.  He was starting to feel a little uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was taking though.  Something in the depths of his subconscious was telling him that this was definitely a topic he should drop, but curiosity got the best of him and he found himself saying, "No, but I'd be grateful if you would just come out with it, Mione.  Its clearly something you think is rather obvious." He smiled at her, so she wouldn't take his words as being defensive. 

            "Oh, Harry.  I really thought you were just keeping it from Ron and me. I'm really sorry.  I shouldn't have brought it up.  You and Malfoy have just been ogling each other like crazy for the last few days, so I thought maybe there was something kind of starting between you."

            Harry frowned, "I hardly think Draco would be ogling me.  First off, I'm a _guy_, Mione, in case you hadn't noticed yet.  And second, he has hated me since the day he could speak my name, so he might **glare** at me, but he certainly wouldn't 'ogle' "

            Hermione gave Harry a smile, "Harry…you still live in the Muggle world when it comes to some things, don't you.  It's different in the Wizarding world.  They don't have the same prejudices.  It's perfectly normal for a boy to have a crush on another boy here.   Look at Justin and Seamus.  They've been dating for years. And as far as him hating you his whole life…I don't think that is necessarily true.  I think he did what his father told him to do but I don't think he ever really hated you.  And whether you like to believe it or not, you were _both_ ogling." She started to leave but then added, "By the way, Harry…you are very cute when you are in denial."

            And with a satisfied smile, Hermione walked away leaving behind a very confused Harry Potter.

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

            Monday morning potions proved to be exercise in control.  After the conversation with Hermione, Harry had started thinking more about his recent reactions to the presence of Malfoy.  He knew that he probably wasn't entirely straight; kissing Ginny Weasley in his fifth year was sure proof of that.  It felt like he was kissing his sister, and at the time he figured it was merely because over the years he had sort of come to think of her as family.  But now, he was starting to think that it was something more than that.  The brief contact he had with Malfoy in the previous potions class had given him butterflies in his stomach every time he thought of it. 

            Now, sitting next to him again, with a clearer grasp of how he could actually pursue a relationship with someone of the same sex, Harry was finding it decidedly difficult not to brush against Malfoy any chance he got. He didn't know if it was his imagination or not, but it seemed Draco may have been doing the same thing.  He got several knowing looks from Hermione throughout the period, but he just blushed and continued working.  Unfortunately, the more Harry thought about it, the more he knew he could never approach Malfoy with his new found curiosities.  If Draco were totally disgusted with the idea it would be far too embarrassing to face him ever again.   

When class was over, he began putting all his books and parchment back into his school bags.  Draco muttered a quiet, "Take care, Harry" and exited the classroom.  Hermione and Ron stood by the door waiting for Harry to finish gathering his books.  He was still a little distracted, what with being so close to Draco for two hours, so he didn't notice his bag caught under the leg of the table.  As he went to pick up his schoolbag he heard a loud….

r r r r i i i i i i p p p p p

All his books, ink and parchment fell to the floor.  Hermione and Ron came over to help him but he waved them on.  "It's ok, guys.  I'll catch up.  You go on ahead."  They both shrugged slightly but went on.  It took a few minutes to clean up his mess, but he managed to get it all done before Snape came back in from his storeroom.   Harry reached into his pocket to check the time and see how late he was going to be, but instead of grabbing the pocket watch that Sirius had given him, his fingers closed around what felt to be a scroll of some sort.  He pulled it from his pocket revealing a sage green parchment wrapped in a fine silver ribbon. 

He frowned slightly.  _Odd.  Definitely looks like something Malfoy would have.  He must have accidentally stuck it in my pocket. _  It wasn't an uncommon thing.  Robes were rather billowing, and when people were sitting next to each other it wasn't difficult to accidentally slide something into the wrong pocket. He shrugged and slipped it back into his pocket.  _However, what if it isn't Malfoy's?  I wouldn't want to give him something that belonged to someone else.  I better take a look at it before I try giving it back to him.  _He checked the time on his pocket watch and realized he was already quite late for Charms class. The parchment would have to wait.  He dropped his watch back into his pocket and sprinted off to Professor Flitwick's classroom. 

After Charms class Harry told his friends that he needed to run up to his dorm for something, and made his way to his personal portrait hole.  He didn't want to read the parchment he found in front of anyone just in case it was something that was personal to Draco.  He had never seen the blond with a girlfriend, other than the time he took Pansy Parkinson to the Yule Ball, but that didn't mean he didn't have any.  It would be far too much fun for Ron to harass Draco about a love letter, if it was something like that.  

            With a whispered, "Oompaloompa" his door swung open and he was in his room.  Dobby must have seen him coming up here, because the fire was already lit, and there was a plate of sandwiches and a pitcher of warmed butterbeer on the table by his bed.  Harry had mentioned to the house elf that he was kind of sick of pumpkin juice so Dobby tried to leave him a little butterbeer now and again.  He sat on the edge of his bed and fished the scroll out of his pocket.  The little silver ribbon looked so delicate he was almost afraid to try to untie it, but it proved much sturdier than it looked.  He spread the scroll open on the table, next to the plate of sandwiches, and read the first line.

_Dear Harry,_

.  


End file.
